Les McCann
R.V.B. - Hi Les... How are You?
L.M. - Ok... How are you buddy?
R.V.B. - I'm doing pretty good. I understand you had a little shake, rattle and roll yesterday on the west coast.
L.M. - That happens all the time. Not that big, but it happens every day.
R.V.B. - Were you awake for this one?
L.M. - Yep. It happened about six o'clock in the morning. It's estimated that we have 1,000 quakes a day.
R.V.B. - You should move back to Lexington Kentucky.
L.M. - Fuck Lexington Kentucky.
R.V.B. - Hahaha. Can you tell me when you were a young child, what was the first music you were exposed to?
L.M. - The church... gospel music. I was a young kid who was going to church listening to music. I was just learning how to speak English. My mother said she could tell I was going to be a musician, from the time I was three years old. If there was music on the radio, I'd be dancing.
R.V.B. - When did you first start playing the piano?
L.M. - I got serious about it when I got out of the Navy.
R.V.B. - Did you just start playing by ear in the Navy?
L.M. - Yes... yes.
R.V.B. - What kind of music did you enjoy at that time?
L.M. - Everything.
R.V.B. - Who were some of the people you were trying to emulate?
L.M. - Nobody. I was open to everything out there. I didn't know any better. When I finally heard somebody like Erroll Garner, that made me know what direction I wanted to go in. That happened when I was in the Navy.
R.V.B. - Did you attempt music as a solo artist or did you experiment with other people in the Navy?
L.M. - I played with other people. I was still a very young learner and I had to play with other people. I was playing jam sessions with my friends. I wasn't a professional musician. I was just learning music. When I got out of the Navy, I went to a music school in Los Angeles. After I was in music school, I started making money. I played around Los Angeles in all the coffee houses. I also started playing at my school... L.A. City College. I learned how to make money.
R.V.B. - Were you composing any songs at that time?
L.M. - I was making songs but I wasn't putting them on paper then. I hired people to do that work for me. Once I found out how much it cost... that day... I found out how to write music.
R.V.B. - As you were honing your skills and developing your chops, how did you get your break to getting out of the pack?
L.M. - I made a record called "The Truth." It was a breakthrough for a new form of soul music. I took all my things I learned and everything was a part of it.
R.V.B. - Did you feel that the music was different and it set you apart from the music that other people were playing?
L.M. - Of course.
R.V.B. - Did you have to tour to support the record or did you stay regional?
L.M. - All of the above. If you get a job, you'll take it... wherever it is.
R.V.B. - Where did these jobs take you to?
L.M. - Well I've been to 36 countries. You pick it.
R.V.B. - I know you recorded another classic record at Montreux.
L.M. - I've gone to France every year. I've started going to Germany. As of now, I've been to everywhere in Europe. I've been to two African countries.
R.V.B - You've played at a lot of festivals there...
L.M. - Yes, Night clubs and festivals.
R.V.B. - Did you have any sporadic jams with people that are noteworthy?
L.M. - Of course. I do that all the time. That's everyday stuff.
R.V.B. - Can you name a few people over in Europe that you may have jammed with that you might not have expected to?
L.M. - B.B. King. It was at a stage show. At the end they always want everybody to come out on stage and play with each other... regardless of what genre you are in.
R.V.B. - The Montreux Jazz Festival. Did they invite people from different genres?
L.M. - They had everybody there. You name it, they've been there. It started out as a jazz festival... it's now called a music festival. Rock groups... Latin groups... They have everything now and it lasts for a month and a half.
R.V.B. - Do you still make the trip there?
L.M. - If I can. I haven't been able to go in the last three years.
R.V.B. - I see. Are you still creating music?
L.M. - Of course. I'm a painter as well.
R.V.B. - Tell me about your paintings! What kind of style of paintings do you like?
L.M. - Everything!!!
R.V.B. - What paintings do you have hanging in your house?
L.M. - I Have my friends paintings hanging in my house.
R.V.B. - Have you shown your paintings in any art exhibits?
L.M. - Of course. I haven't been doing much recently since I've been in the hospital. I've got a new website coming soon. I've got people who handle that part of the business.
R.V.B. - Do you split your time now to creating art and playing music?
L.M. - In the last three years I stopped playing music because my fingers stopped working. I'm in the middle of writing a book. I have to go to very serious therapy to try and get my fingers back. I've been told to lay off playing the piano except for playing jobs.
R.V.B. - Are you having somebody help you with your book?
L.M. - The writer came to me and asked me if he could write a book about me.
R.V.B. - That sounds exciting.
L.M. - Yes it is. It's good trying to remember things. It's really been an interesting project. You recall so much.
R.V.B. - I know that you played a lot with Eddie Harris... and I see that you worked with Joe Pass... Did you ever associate with Miles Davis?
L.M. - I knew Miles but I never played with him. He put my name on a couple of his records. He really loved the way I played. One time I played a jam session and I didn't know he was in the room. When it was over, he came up to me and said "How come you didn't come up to play when I was up there?" He recommended me to Cannonball, when he started his group... but I was doing my own thing.
R.V.B. - Were there any guitarists that you enjoyed playing with?
L.M. - Well... Buddy Guy.
R.V.B. - Wow!!! you do play a lot of blues.
L.M. - Well the jazz is the blues.
R.V.B. - They came out around the same time.
L.M. - The jazz I was coming up with was based around blues. There was the soul part of (Ray Charles) and the music from the church. It was all connected. The younger guys are coming on to take it to another level.
R.V.B. - Some people say jazz started in New Orleans. Some people say it started in the delta...
L.M. - Other people say it started in Chicago. It's there... so it doesn't matter.
R.V.B. - Did you ever dabble with rock and roll?
L.M. - I've done all kinds of records with other people but I want to make this clear... when you're a true jazz musician, those other elements and genres don't even come into the equation. You don't play jazz... you are a jazz musician. Either you are or you're not. You can't say oh I play jazz... I do this... that's bullshit.
R.V.B. - It's got to be in your heart.
L.M. - It's got to be your passion. A lot of guys are great musicians. They want to learn a lot of things to make money. You can't be a jazz musician and do other things.
R.V.B. - I guess it's the same with the blues.
L.M. - They got all these schools that tell you they can teach you how to play the blues... no they can't! They can teach you some chords. They can teach you to strum that Guitar. That's not the blues. You're just copying the recordings.
R.V.B. - What do you think of the music industry today and the way it has changed.
L.M. - It's supposed to change. Always moving forward. I'd like to see a major shift in what we once called jazz. As Miles Davis said "Jazz is dead." Like 'Dixieland'... they've done it so much, there's no meaning in it anymore.
R.V.B. - You can say that for other genres as well. It's all been done.
L.M. - Same with art.
R.V.B. - Art has many interpretations. That will never die.
L.M. - The same with music. It will never die. They have categories like Dixieland... smooth... once you name it, that's the end of it.
R.V.B. - Are some of the early jazz masters like Louis Armstrong and others ingrained in your playing.
L.M. - No not really. I just listened. A jazz musician is different. Why would I want to copy somebody else?
R.V.B. - How are you doing health wise? Are you going to be able to go out and play again?
L.M. - I don't know. I just had a major treatment today. I'm just getting ready to go to sleep now because I'm wiped out. Hopefully this will make a big change where I can hopefully - at least - walk again.
R.V.B. - I wish the best for you.
L.M. - Thank you very much.
R.V.B. - Thank you for taking this time with me.
L.M. - Thank you buddy. Keep everything warm on Long Island.
R.V.B. - Last night it was 18 degrees.
L.M. - It was only 85 out here.
R.V.B. - Ok rub it in.
L.M. - Hahaha... that's what happens when we get these earthquakes. Whenever we have one that's significant, Arizona gets a big influx of people moving there from L.A..
R.V.B. - The last big one was in 94. How did you fare through that one?
L.M. - Everything in my apartment fell. I was able to get out. It was in the morning and probably 40 degrees outside... cold as a motherfucker.
R.V.B. - Hahaha. Thanks for the chat.
L.M. - Thank you and God Bless you.
Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz
This interview may not be reproduced in any part or form without permission from this site.
For more information on Les McCann visit his website. lesmccann-officialwebsite
For more information on this site contact Robvonb247(at)gmail(dot)com
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